‘Kamal Got Me Hooked On To Fitness’

‘It
was
my
job
to
read
out
their
lines
to
the
actors
and
make
sure
they
spoke
them
with
the
right
diction,
accent
and
pronunciation.’
‘If
you
look
at
my
photographs
from
the

Sadma
set,
you
will
always
find
me
with
a
file
in
hand,
even
when
I
am
in
my
costume.’

Among
Kamal
Haasan’s
many
friends
and
colleagues
is

Gulshan
Grover.

The
‘Bad
Man’
was
at
Kamal
Haasan’s
birthday
party
last
year,
as
both
of
them
had
been
shooting
for

Indian
2
at
the
time
and
shared
with
the
other
guest
at
the
party,
Mani
Ratnam
how
delighted
he
was
to
reunite
with
his

Nayakan
hero
after
three
decades
for

Thug
Life.

As
Kamal
Haasan
turns
70
on
November
7,
Gulshan
tells



Rediff.com
Senior
Contributor

Roshmila
Bhattacharya
about
the
43-year-friendship
that
began
on
the
set
of

Sadma
and
the
lessons
he
learnt
from
him,
particularly
during
the
fight
scenes.

“Kamal
not
only
gave
me
tips
on
how
to
overpower
an
actor
bigger
and
stronger
than
you,
but
also
gave
me
the
knee
and
elbow
pads
he
had
brought
for
himself
from
abroad.
These
imported
pads
made
wrestling
on
the
rough
terrain
smooth.
Kamal,
who
had
sacrificed
his
protective
gear,
ended
up
with
the
bruises,
but
made
a
permanent
place
in
my
heart.”

Kamal
has
changed…

I
was
shooting
with
Kamal
Haasan
after
many
years
and
was
understandably
nervous
on
the
first
day
of

Indian
2‘s
shoot.

I
recalled
from
the

Sadma
days
that
Kamal,
who
is
a
fantastic
actor
and
well-versed
in
technique,
would
just
get
up
from
his
chair,
walk
through
the
rehearsals
and
be
ready
for
a
take
in
a
jiffy.

I,
on
the
other
hand,
like
to
prep
well.

Since
I’m
playing
his
adversary
in
this
film,
I
knew
I
had
to
have
my
game
on
point
and
be
ready
to
take
him
on
without
too
many
rehearsals.

But
to
my
surprise,
I
discovered
that
Kamal
had
changed.

The
most
wonderful
actor
India
had
ever
seen,
who
surprises
you
in
every
film,
leaving
you
wonder-stuck
with
not
just
his
versatility
but
also
his
ability
to
carry
off
action,
emotion,
dance,
drama
and
comedy,
industriously
rehearsed
every
scene
with
me
several
times.

Brushing
off
all
the
praise
heaped
on
him,
the
flood
of
compliments
he
is
deluged
with,
Kamal
Haasan
works
as
hard
and
industriously
as
any
newcomer
even
today,
to
get
into
character
and
understand
what
is
required
of
him.

When
I
was
stuck
while
we
were
doing
a
scene
together,
he
acted
out
my
portions
for
me
and
put
me
back
on
track.

When
I
pointed
out
that
he
should
emphasise
a
particular
aspect
in
a
scene,
giving
the
audience
another
perspective,
he
accepted
my
suggestion
with
grace
and
incorporated
it.

There
was
a
lot
of
give
and
take
between
us
which
made
the
God
of
acting
not
just
more
human.

This
has
also
taken
his
films
one
step
up.

Last
year,
at
the
age
of
69,
Kamal
Haasan
gave
Tamil
cinema
its
biggest
hit,

Vikram,
which
underlines
not
just
his
star
power,
but
also
his
hunger
to
excel.

Birthday
memories

As
far
as
our
personal
equation
goes,
I
was
gratified
to
find
that
the
warmth
and
respect
we
have
always
had
for
each
other,
had
not
diminished.
If
anything,
it
has
grown.

From
the
first
day
to
the
14-15
days
that
we
shot
together
at
a
stretch,
we
were
always
together.

While
on
camera
we
were
adversaries,
off
it,
we
were
the
best
of
buddies.

He
kept
the
chair
next
to
him
for
me
and
between
shots,
we
were
always
chatting
and
laughing.

This
surprised
his
younger
colleagues
down
South
who,
not
being
as
well
acquainted
with
the
work
I’ve
done,
had
had
no
idea
the
Bad
Man
is
also
a
big
name
in
my
part
of
the
world.

When
they
saw
how
caring
and
affectionate
the
legend
was
towards
me,
insisting
I
eat
whatever
was
brought
out
for
him
and
ensuring
I
had
wants
for
nothing
during
the
duration
of
the
shoot,
it
elevated
my
own
standing
on
the

Indian
2
set.

Kamal
invited
me,
along
with
a
small
circle
of
close
friends,
to
his
birthday
party
last
year.

There
I
met
old
friends
like
Khushboo
and
Radhika,
as
well
as
his
younger
daughter
Akshara.

Mani
Ratnam
and
his
wife
Suhasini
were
there
too
and
I
told
the
director
how
delighted
I
was
that
Kamal
and
he
were
reuniting,
three
decades
after
their
cult
classic

Nayakan.

Their

Thug
Life
is
a
film
I
am
really
looking
forward
to.

I
also
noticed
that
when
a
childhood
friend
kept
butting
into
his
conversations,
Kamal
showed
not
the
slightest
hint
of
irritation.

It
is
these
qualities
of
humility,
humanity
and
magnanimity,
along
with
him
being
the
fantastic
actor
that
he
is,
that
I
gave
an
impromptu
speech
on
the
occasion.

Jogging
to
fitness
and
wisdom

On
the
second
day
of
the

Indian
2
shoot,
Kamal
admitted
that
on
his
way
back,
he
had
remembered
our
fun
times
from

Sadma.

Kamal,
who
by
then
was
already
a
legend,
and
Romu
N
Sippy,
whose
father,
N
C
Sippy
had
produced
wonderful
films
like

Padosan,
Guddi,
Anand,
Bawarchi,
Chupke
Chupke,
Mili,
Gol
Maal
and

Khubsoorat,
had
befriended
me,
then
a
struggling
actor.

Sadma,
directed
by
Balu
Mahendru,
released
on
July
8,
1983.

Balu’s
first
Hindi
film
was
a
remake
of
his
1982
Tamil
film,

Moondram
Pirai.

It
is
a
beautiful
love
story
with
Sridevi
as
Nehalata,
who
after
suffering
head
injury
in
a
car
crash
regresses
to
a
six
year
old
as
a
result
of
retrograde
amnesia,
and
Kamal’s
Somu,
a
lonely
school
teacher
who
rescues
her
from
a
brothel,
brings
her
home
and
loses
his
heart
to
her.

I
had
lucked
out
when
my
eyes
caught
Balu’s
eyes
and
he
called
Romu,
insisting
that
he
wanted
me
to
play
the
baddie,
Balua.

Romu,
who
was
producing
the
film
with
his
brother
Raj
N
Sippy,
was
surprised
because
another
actor,
a
bigger
name,
had
already
been
signed
for
the
role
of
the
local
woodcutter.

But
Balu
was
adamant
he
wanted
only
me.

When
I
met
him
at
his
office
at
Roop
Tara
Studio
in
Mumbai,
Romu
was
very
gracious
and
we
signed
the
contract
that
very
day.

During
the
shoot
in
Ooty,
I
stayed
with
Romu,
who
was
there
throughout,
in
his
two-bedroom
suite.

Every
evening,
after
pack-up,
I
would
go
for
a
jog
with
Kamal
and
him.

Kamal
was
the
one
who
got
me
hooked
on
fitness
and
I
took
the
opportunity
to
ask
him
a
lot
of
questions
on
acting
and
the
craft
of
cinema.

Given
his
years
of
experience
and
fund
of
knowledge,
it
was
wisdom
time
for
me.

All
his
tips
and
guidance
have
come
in
handy
down
the
decades.

Padding
up
a
fight

I
was
really
nervous
about
our
fight
scene.

After
learning
about
Balua’s
attempt
to
molest
Nehalata,
whom
he
has
christened
Reshmi,
Somu
goes
at
him
hammer
and
tongs.

Kamal
insisted
I
make
it
as
real
as
possible
and
assured
me
that
I
would
not
get
hurt,
saying
reassuringly,
‘If
there
is
a
boulder
and
we
are
rolling
towards
it,
I
will
make
sure
I
hit
it
first
and
cushion
the
impact
for
you.’

He
not
only
gave
me
tips
on
how
to
overpower
an
actor
bigger
and
stronger
than
you
but
also
gave
me
the
knee
and
elbow
pads
he
had
brought
for
himself
from
abroad.

These
imported
pads
made
wrestling
on
the
rough
terrain
smooth.

Kamal,
who
had
sacrificed
his
protective
gear,
ended
up
with
the
bruises,
but
made
a
permanent
place
in
my
heart.

My
admiration
and
learning
which
began
on
sets
of

Sadma
and
continues
to
this
day.

Lessons
in
Tamil
and
Hindi

On
the
set,
Kamal,
Sridevi
and
Balu
would
discuss
scenes
in
fluent
Tamil.

Suddenly,
noticing
the
blank
look
on
my
face,
Kamal
would
stop
and
translate
all
that
had
been
said
in
English
for
me.

Balu
would
urge
me
to
learn
Tamil,
and
Kamal
succeeded
in
teaching
me
a
smattering
of
the
language.

A
couple
of
days
into
the

Sadma
shoot,
some
of
my
suggestions
impressed
Balu
and
he
gave
me
the
additional
responsibility
of
coaching
Kamal,
Sridevi
and
Silk
Smitha
in
their
Hindi
dialogues.

Our
director
was
dictated
by
the
location
and
the
weather.

If
a
particular
place
or
the
lighting
at
a
certain
point
during
the
day
caught
his
fancy,
he
would
rush
out
his
actors
and
technicians
and
shoot
without
any
prep.

He
barely
gave
his
actors
time
to
get
into
their
costume
and
at
times
told
Sridevi
not
to
bother
with
make-up.

During
such
times,
it
was
my
job
to
read
out
their
lines
to
the
actors
and
make
sure
they
spoke
them
with
the
right
diction,
accent
and
pronunciation.

If
you
look
at
my
photographs
from
the
set,
you
will
always
find
me
with
a
file
in
hand,
even
when
I
am
in
my
costume.

While
Kamal
and
Sridevi
were
diligent
about
their
Hindi
dialogue,
Silk
Smitha,
while
always
respectful,
was
not
too
interested
in
her
lines
or
my
instructions.

She
was
one
of
the
busiest
stars
at
the
time
and
on
the
day
that
she
was
to
arrive,
I
would
be
left
behind
at
the
hotel
to
narrate
the
scenes
to
her
and
go
over
the
lines
before
she
was
driven
to
the
set.

I
don’t
think
she
realised
I
was
one
of
the
actors
till

Sadma‘s
release.

The
disguise
I
saw
through

Kamal
and
I
did
another
film,
T
Rama
Rao’s

Yeh
Desh,
the
following
year.

It
is
the
Hindi
remake
of
Krishna’s
200th
Telugu
film,

Eenadu.

I
was
living
in
a
building
called
Krishna
at
the
time
and
one
morning,
when
I
went
to
the
nearby

baniya
shop
to
make
a
call,
I
noticed
a
guy
in
dark
glasses
grooving
to
music
playing
on
his
Walkman.

I
looked
at
him
closely,
he
stared
back
and
I
recognised
him
from
his
eyes.

‘Kamal,’
I
muttered,
he
ignored
me.

‘Kamal,’
I
repeated,
and
this
time
he
shushed
me,
asking,
‘How
did
you
recognise
me?’

I
pointed
out
that
I
was
an
actor
too
and
understood
body
language.

Coincidentally,
I
had
just
bumped
into
our

Sadma
co-star,
Sridevi,
outside
Mumbai’s
Seth
Studio
where
she
was
shooting
for
Rakesh
Roshan’s

Jaag
Utha
Insaan.

When
I
mentioned
this,
Kamal
immediately
asked
me
to
take
him
to
her
hotel.

‘Let’s
rag
her,’
he
said,
and
I
thought
to
myself
that
he
being
the
legendary
Kamal
Haasan
and
having
done
several
films
with
her
could
do
so,
but
it
wouldn’t
be
right
for
me
to
be
a
part
of
the
prank
too.

But
I
could
not
say
no
to
Kamal
and
reluctantly
escorted
him
there.

Kamal
was
still
in
his
Afro
disguise
having
planned
to
play
the
same
prank
on
her.

I
heaved
a
sigh
of
relief
when
I
learnt
that
Sridevi
was
not
in
her
room.

On
Kamal’s
birthday,
all
these
memories
come
flooding
back.

I
wish
for
him
to
always
be
happy,
healthy
and
move
from
strength
to
strength,
as
an
actor
and
film-maker.